BELLS & MOTLEY'S PUBLIC PERFORMANCES ![]() E-Mail Bells & Motley ![]() **OUR NEWS, PERFORMANCE UPDATES 2023 Fans & Friends, Check below for currently confirmed performances. Thanks so much for being part of our circle! 1st Week of January, 2023 Krewe Jeanne D'Arc Medieval Banquet and Dance Celebration Bourbon Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, LA We welcome these several days of celebration of Carnival Revelry Bells & Motley entertain with Medieval French Music & Instruments (our beloved specialty) at this authentic costumed gathering before and during dinner, and then teach period dances afterwards. Reservations required. Call us for further information. The days following, we play our French Bagpipes in a Second Line and then a Grande Parade in honor of St. Joan, Patron Saint of New Orleans. Find us walking right behind the young St. Joan as she rides through the city on her horse. Such an Epiphany! Saturday January 21, 2023 6:00-9:00 pm Our Annual Robbie Burns Birthday Celebration Dinner Brae Loch Inn, 5 Albany St. Cazenovia, NY Mid-Winter Pageantry, Scottish Music and Traditions -- Bells & Motley's 35th Year at Brae Loch Celebration! Join us in our annual January tradition of Scottish music and pageantry ~ this is a grandest celebration where we revel in our Celtic musical roots. We'll be making music throughout the evening upon the harp, northumbrian bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, bodhran, hammered dulcimer, and more. Highlights of the evening include the traditional "Ode to Haggis" celebration as it is paraded in grandest style reekin' 'round the room. This is an incredibly warm and wondrous evening of music, traditions, and pageantry- the kind of stuff we've been made of all these fine years! The dinner menu is absolutely incredible, course after course. For extra fun, start off your evening with an intimate cocktail and our music, snuggled close-up in front of the downstairs fireplace beginning by 6:00. www.braelochinn.com/special-events/burns-night Saturday March 4, 2023 10:00 am Monroe Free Library 44 Millpond Parkway, Monroe NY "The Boy Who Went to Visit the North Wind" followed by "Who Has Heard the Wind" - Celtic Style! Look forward to an energetic, meaningful, & interactive tandem storytelling experience underscored with live music on Celtic Harp, resonant with historic authenticity, and alive with abundant participation. Enjoyed by the young and Old! This tale of "Long Ago and Far Away" will be ushered in with a closeup look at unusual historic wind instruments, including early Bagpipes, and more! This being so close to St. Patrick's Day, we'll have a special emphasis on Irish instruments Families, children all ages welcome! For more information, contact Susan Dwyer-Johnson, Programming 845.783.4411 ext.204 www.monroefreelibrary.org Saturday March 4, 2023 3:30 pm North Castle Library, Whippoorwill Theater 19 Whippoorwill Road East, Armonk NY "Celtic Music & Minstrelsy - Of Bards, Bagpipes, & Rhymers" This concert explores rare and rustic musical traditions and lore from the heart of the Celtic Lands. Our specialties being both Medieval-Renaissance and Celtic Music and Culture, we shall combine them on this journey to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Brittany (the Celtic NW corner of France.) The music will span the cultural tradition of bards, bagpipes, and rhymers, from Kings to Commoners. In addition to our songs, you will hear instruments long beloved by these cultures -- harp, hurdy gurdy, hammered dulcimer, lute, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, button accordion, bodhran, penny whistles, and yes of course, a range of unusual bagpipes. Questions from the audience are welcome, and at the end of a program, whenever possible, Sondra welcomes the gathering of folks who "always wanted to touch a harp" - truly a memorable sharing. Others will gather in close to find out why the ancient hurdy gurdy sounds so much like a bagpipe, and how these instruments work. As a builder of historic stringed instruments, John loves to share this, and more. All are welcome. For more information, call 914.273.3887 www.northcastlelibrary.org Wednesday April 5, 2023 ~ Starts 1:00 PM "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Participatory Folk Operetta" Macedon Public Library 30 Main Street, Macedon, NY Great for all ages! This participatory Folk Operetta celebrates New York's Grand Erie Canal! It is vibrant with authentic historic instruments, music, costumes, tall tales, sing-alongs, and canal characters for an unforgettable experience in New York State's History. Heritage instruments include squeezeboxes, fiddle, banjo, and hurdy gurdy. Free admission. For information: 315-986-5932 x3 (call goes to Town Hall; ask to be forwarded to main desk), www.macedonpubliclibrary.org PAST PERFORMANCES.. 1st Week of January, 2022 Krewe Jeanne D'Arc Medieval Banquet and Dance Celebration Bourbon Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, LA We welcome these several days of celebration of Carnival Revelry Bells & Motley entertain with Medieval French Music & Instruments (our beloved specialty) at this authentic costumed gathering before and during dinner, and then teach period dances afterwards. Reservations required. Call us for further information. The days following, we play our French Bagpipes in a Second Line and then a Grande Parade in honor of St. Joan, Patron Saint of New Orleans. Find us walking right behind the young St. Joan as she rides through the city on her horse. Such an Epiphany! Saturday January 22, 2022 6:00-9:00 pm Our Annual Robbie Burns Birthday Celebration Dinner Brae Loch Inn, 5 Albany St. Cazenovia, NY Mid-Winter Pageantry, Scottish Music and Traditions -- Bells & Motley's 34nd Year at Brae Loch Celebration! Join us in our annual January tradition of Scottish music and pageantry ~ this is a grandest celebration where we revel in our Celtic musical roots. We'll be making music throughout the evening upon the harp, northumbrian bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, bodhran, hammered dulcimer, and more. Highlights of the evening include the traditional "Ode to Haggis" celebration as it is paraded in grandest style reekin' 'round the room. This is an incredibly warm and wondrous evening of music, traditions, and pageantry- the kind of stuff we've been made of all these fine years! The dinner menu is absolutely incredible, course after course. For extra fun, begin your evening with an intimate cocktail and our music, snuggled close-up in front of the downstairs fireplace starting at 6:00. www.braelochinn.com/special-events/burns-night Saturday April 16, 2022 ~ Starts 10:00 AM "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Participatory Folk Operetta" Dutton Peterson Memorial Library 106 First Street, Odessa NY. This participatory Folk Operetta celebrates New York's Grand Erie Canal! It is vibrant with authentic historic instruments, music, costumes, tall tales, sing-alongs, and canal characters for an unforgettable experience in New York State's History. Heritage instruments include squeezeboxes, fiddle, banjo, and hurdy gurdy. Free admission. For information: 607.594.2791, www.duttonpetersonlibrary.org Saturday April 23, 2022 ~ Starts 10:30 AM MORRIS DANCING in Gilbertsville, NY Traditional English ritual dances to welcome in the Spring at this special annual event! Teams include the Binghamton Morris Men (of which John Bromka is a longtime dancing member), and friends from Boston, New York City, Toronto, and elsewhere! Members of each team are adorned with a unique identifying kit of "bells and motley." Various outdoor locations; look for posters, or visit www.facebook.com/binghamton.morris/ for more information. Wed-Fri April 26-29, 2022 Chinese Dragon Maskmaking & Lantern workshops 3:00-4:30 daily Finale culminating participatory performance of "Bawshou & The Dragon" Mythological Chinese Folk Pageant Hancock Community Education Foundation, Hancock NY What would you do if the Sun was captured by a powerful Dragon, and hidden in a cave, deep beneath the sea? In this traditional Chinese tale of wonder and adventure, our young hero Bawshou bravely sets out to rescue the Sun with the help of a magic golden Phoenix, to meet the Dragon's three challenges. Featuring costumes, dance, and storytelling techniques of the orient, the action and mystique of the tale are highlighted by live music on authentic Chinese traditional stringed, wind, and percussion instruments, including pipa, erhu, gong, temple bells, drum, & guzhung (ancient Chinese zither harp.) Delightfully participatory for all ages! May 16-19, 2022 Medieval & Renaissance Arts Residency, Dance & Music Focus John Jay Middle School Katonah, NY Inquire for information; annually since 2005 August 25 Thursday + 26 Friday, 2022 New York State Fair, Syracuse NY Witter Agricultural Museum NYS Heritage instruments and music will be featured, as we pay our annual heartfelt musical tribute to local history. This superb museum has always been an inspiring part of our childhood upbringing, our historic musical work, and now as adults, towards our 1830's home restoration project in Marcellus, and ever-growing heritage gardens! Come visit us during sets, and come ask questions about our wondrous historic instruments between times. Concert times 12:00, 1:30, 3:00. Sat & Sun October 1 + 2, 2022 Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, Saugerties NY Every year since 1992, Bells & Motley has been excited to be invited back to perform music both days at this prime garlic marketplace & festival! It is always such a great time, with grand entertainments -and as an added bonus, John's Morris Team the Binghamton Morris Men join with the Bowerie Boys to perform rustic English dances in celebration of the harvest. Daily admission $10. hvgf.org Sunday December 11, 2022 1:00-4:00 Lorenzo State Historic Site Christmas Open House, Cazenovia NY Here's the beloved local historic site that Bells & Motley have called our special Christmas home since 1986! This is an open house event, and a lovely chance to experience the magic of another era. Our historic holiday music fills the corridors and chambers of this fine estate, decorated to the nines in celebration of the season. We promise to transport you to a time and place most rare, with bells on!..... Location: 17 Rippleton Road, Route 13. For information: 315-655-3200, www.lorenzony.org Saturday December 17, 2022 ~ Starts at Noon "An International Christmas: Holiday Music & Traditions of Long Ago & Far Away" Macedon Public Library 30 Main Street, Macedon NY Celebrate this most joyous season with a warm & wondrous concert of traditional Yuletide music. Sondra and John perform on all manner of historic and folk instruments, and bid you join them in bringing Christmas festivities of Old to life and revelry. Come with your family, friends, and neighbors of all ages to share the season�s best at this festive gathering! Free admission. For information: 315.986.5932 2021 New York State Fair, Syracuse NY Witter Agricultural Museum NYS Heritage instruments and music will be featured, as we pay our annual heartfelt musical tribute to local agricultural history. This superb museum has always been an inspiring part of our childhood upbringing, our historic musical work, and now as adults, towards our 1830's home restoration project in Marcellus, and ever-growing heritage gardens! Saturday October 16, 2021 Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica NY Bells & Motley will be playing (both strolling, and in featured locations) for the opening of Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave's exhibit of masterpieces celebrating more than 500 years of fashion history. 7:00 pm start time ..... Location: 310 Genesee St. For information: 315-797-0000. For more about the exhibit: https://www.mwpai.org/view/exhibitions/future-exhibition/isabelle-de-borchgrave-fashioning-art-from-paper/ Saturday & Sunday October 2 + 3, 2021 Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, Saugerties NY In its 30th year, we are excited to be invited back to perform once again both days at this prime garlic marketplace & festival! It is always such a great time, with grand entertainments -and as an added bonus, John's Morris Team the Binghamton Morris Men join with the Bowerie Boys to perform rustic English dances in celebration of the harvest. Daily admission $10, free parking. hvgf.org Friday August 13, 2021 "Bawshou & The Dragon" Mythological Chinese Folk Pageant Dragon Maskmaking workshops 2:00-3:00, Performance 3:00-4:00 Guernsey Memorial Library, Norwich NY What would you do if the Sun was captured by a powerful Dragon, and hidden in a cave, deep beneath the sea? In this traditional Chinese tale of wonder and adventure, our young hero Bawshou bravely sets out to rescue the Sun with the help of a magic golden Phoenix, to meet the Dragon's three challenges. Featuring costumes, dance, and storytelling techniques of the orient, the action and mystique of the tale are highlighted by live music on authentic Chinese traditional stringed, wind, and percussion instruments, including pipa, erhu, gong, temple bells, drum, & guzhung (ancient Chinese zither harp.) Delightfully participatory for all ages! Saturday December 11, 2021 ~ Starts 3:00 pm "An International Christmas: Holiday Music & Traditions of Long Ago & Far Away" Dutton Peterson Memorial Library 106 First Street, Odessa NY. Celebrate this most joyous season with a warm & wondrous concert of traditional Yuletide music. Sondra and John perform on all manner of historic and folk instruments, and bid you join them in bringing Christmas festivities of Old to life and revelry. Come with your family, friends, and neighbors of all ages to share the season�s best at this festive gathering! Free admission. For information: 607.594.2791, www.duttonpetersonlibrary.org Sunday December 12, 2021 1:00-4:00 Lorenzo State Historic Site Christmas Open House, Cazenovia NY Here's the beloved local historic site that Bells & Motley have called our special Christmas home since 1986! This is an open house event, and a lovely chance to experience the magic of another era. Our historic holiday music fills the corridors and chambers of this fine estate, decorated to the nines in celebration of the season. We promise to transport you to a time and place most rare, with bells on!..... Location: 17 Rippleton Road, Route 13. For information: 315-655-3200, www.lorenzony.org ** CANCELLED for 2021, LORENZO CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE WILL NOT BE OPEN THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF COVID ** A SAMPLING OF EARLIER PERFORMANCES Saturday-Monday January 4-6, 2020 Krewe Jeanne D'Arc Medieval Banquet and Dance Celebration Bourbon Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, LA This begins a 3-day weekend of celebration of Carnival Revelry Bells & Motley entertain with Medieval French Music & Instruments (our beloved specialty) at this authentic costumed gathering before and during dinner, and then teach period dances afterwards. Reservations required. Call us for further information. Sunday and Monday, we play our French Bagpipes in a Second Line and then a Grande Parade in honor of St. Joan, Patron Saint of New Orleans. Find us walking right behind the young St. Joan as she rides through the city on her horse. Such an Epiphany! Saturday January 25, 2020 6:00-9:00 pm Our Annual Robbie Burns Birthday Celebration Dinner Brae Loch Inn, 5 Albany St. Cazenovia, NY Mid-Winter Pageantry, Scottish Music and Traditions -- Bells & Motley's 32nd Year at Brae Loch Celebration! Join us in our annual January tradition of Scottish music and pageantry ~ this is a grandest celebration where we revel in our Celtic musical roots. We'll be making music throughout the evening upon the harp, northumbrian bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, bodhran, hammered dulcimer, and more. Highlights of the evening include the traditional "Ode to Haggis" celebration as it is paraded in grandest style reekin' 'round the room. This is an incredibly warm and wondrous evening of music, traditions, and pageantry- the kind of stuff we've been made of all these fine years! The dinner menu is absolutely incredible, course after course. For extra fun, begin your evening with an intimate cocktail and our music, snuggled close-up in front of the downstairs fireplace starting at 5:00. www.braelochinn.com/special-events/burns-night The remainder of our Spring/Summer/Winter 2020 performances were cancelled due to Covid. Hopefully venues will re-open as soon as it is safe to do so! A SAMPLE OF PERFORMANCES 2019 Saturday January 26, 2019 6:00-9:00 pm Our Annual Robbie Burns Birthday Celebration Dinner Brae Loch Inn, 5 Albany St. Cazenovia, NY Mid-Winter Pageantry, Scottish Music and Traditions -- Bells & Motley's 31th Year at Brae Loch Celebration! Join us in our annual January tradition of Scottish music and pageantry ~ this is a grandest celebration where we revel in our Celtic musical roots. We'll be making music throughout the evening upon the harp, northumbrian bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, bodhran, hammered dulcimer, and more. Highlights of the evening include the traditional "Ode to Haggis" celebration as it is paraded in grandest style reekin' 'round the room. This is an incredibly warm and wondrous evening of music, traditions, and pageantry- the kind of stuff we've been made of all these fine years! The dinner menu is absolutely incredible, course after course. For extra fun, begin your evening with an intimate cocktail and our music, snuggled close-up in front of the downstairs fireplace starting at 6:00. www.braelochinn.com/special-events/burns-night Sunday Feb 3, 2019 6:00-9:00 pm Irish American Cultural Institute Syracuse, NY A Celtic Musical Celebration of Imbolc Bells & Motley play special selections of Celtic music at a gathering marking this special seasonal turning point. Genesee Grande Hotel, by reservation. Call for more information. Monday February 18, 2019 2 performances 11:00 & 2:00 "Bawshou & The Water Dragon" Traditional Chinese Folk Pageant Bethlehem Public Library, Delmar NY What would you do if the Sun was captured by a powerful Dragon, and hidden in a cave, deep beneath the sea? In this traditional Chinese tale of wonder and adventure, our young hero Bawshou bravely sets out to rescue the Sun with the help of a magic golden Phoenix, to meet the Dragon's three challenges. Featuring costumes, dance, and storytelling techniques of the orient, the action and mystique of the tale are highlighted by live music on authentic Chinese traditional stringed, wind, and percussion instruments, including pipa, erhu, gong, temple bells, drum, & guzhung (ancient Chinese zither harp.) Delightfully participatory! Friday March 15, 2019 1:30 pm Mount Kisco Public Library 100 East Main Street, Mount Kisco NY "The Boy Who Went to Visit the North Wind" and "Who Has Heard the Wind" - Celtic Style! Look forward to an energetic, meaningful, & interactive tandem storytelling experience underscored with live music on Celtic Harp, resonant with historic authenticity, and alive with abundant participation. Enjoyed by the young and Old! This tale of "Long Ago and Far Away" will be ushered in with a closeup look at unusual historic wind instruments, including early Bagpipes, and more! This being so close to St. Patrick's Day, we'll have a special emphasis on Irish instruments Families, children all ages welcome! For more information, contact Margaret Kaczorowski, Children's Librarian 914.666.8041 Saturday March 16, 2019 1:00 pm North Castle Library, Whippoorwill Hall 19 Whippoorwill Road East, Armonk NY "Celtic Music & Minstrelsy - Of Bards, Bagpipes, & Rhymers" This concert explores rare and rustic musical traditions and lore from the heart of the Celtic Lands. Our specialties being both Medieval-Renaissance and Celtic Music and Culture, we shall combine them on this journey to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Brittany (the Celtic NW corner of France.) The music will span the cultural tradition of bards, bagpipes, and rhymers, from Kings to Commoners. In addition to our songs, you will hear instruments long beloved by these cultures -- harp, hurdy gurdy, hammered dulcimer, lute, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, button accordion, bodhran, penny whistles, and yes of course, a range of unusual bagpipes. Questions from the audience are welcome, and at the end of a program, whenever possible, Sondra welcomes the gathering of folks who "always wanted to touch a harp" - truly a memorable sharing. Others will gather in close to find out why the ancient hurdy gurdy sounds so much like a bagpipe, and how these instruments work. As a builder of historic stringed instruments, John loves to share this, and more. All are welcome. For more information, contact Edie Martimucci, Director 914.273.3887 May 21-23, 2019 Medieval Arts Residency, Dance Focus John Jay Middle School Katonah, NY Inquire for information; annually since 2005 May 28-31, 2019 Medieval Music, Dance, Theater Residency Elisabeth Morrow School Englewood, Nj Inquire for information; annually since 1998! June 7, 2019 Medieval Music & Art History Chittenango Middle School Chittenango, NY June 12, 2019 Medieval Arts Day, Music and Illumination Arts Pavilion Middle School Pavilion, NY Inquire for information; annually since 2001 Tuesday July 9, 2019 Shakespeare in the Park Summer Camp Thornden Park Syracuse, NY Inquire for information about registration (required) Sterling Renaissance Festival 2019 ALL WEEKENDS beginning July 6-7, thru final weekend August 17-18 Bells & Motley's **43rd Year** of performance since this wonderful Faire's inception in 1976! --- We'll have four different concerts each day in two different locations. And every faire day at noon, Bells & Motley offer a historic dance instruction session on the festival stage for your participation. Beginners and old-timers all welcome! Come kick up your heels, make new friends! www.sterlingfaire.com Wednesday July 24, 2019 2 performances "Bawshou & The Water Dragon" Traditional Chinese Folk Pageant 11:00 Watkins Glen Public Library, Watkins Glen NY 2:45 Dutton Peterson Memorial Library, Odessa NY What would you do if the Sun was captured by a powerful Dragon, and hidden in a cave, deep beneath the sea? In this traditional Chinese tale of wonder and adventure, our young hero Bawshou bravely sets out to rescue the Sun with the help of a magic golden Phoenix, to meet the Dragon's three challenges. Featuring costumes, dance, and storytelling techniques of the orient, the action and mystique of the tale are highlighted by live music on authentic Chinese traditional stringed, wind, and percussion instruments, including pipa, erhu, gong, temple bells, drum, & guzhung (ancient Chinese zither harp.) Delightfully participatory! Tuesday July 30, 2019 at 4:00 "Bawshou & The Water Dragon" Traditional Chinese Folk Pageant Cady Library, Nichols NY Wednesday July 31, 2019 at 10:00AM "Bawshou & The Water Dragon" Traditional Chinese Folk Pageant Gorham Free Library, Gorham NY August 21, 22, 23, 24, 2019 New York State Fair, Syracuse NY Witter Agricultural Museum NYS Heritage instruments and music will be featured, as we pay our annual heartfelt musical tribute to local agricultural history. This superb museum has always been an inspiring part of our childhood upbringing, our historic musical work, and now as adults, towards our 1830's home restoration project in Marcellus, and ever-growing heritage gardens! Come visit us as we play in front of the museum at 11:30, 1:00, and 3:00 each of these first four days.. Saturday & Sunday September 28 + 29, 2019 Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, Saugerties NY In its 28th year, we are excited to be invited back to perform once again both days at this prime garlic marketplace & festival! It is always such a great time, with grand entertainments -and as an added bonus, John's Morris Team the Binghamton Morris Men join with the Bowerie Boys to perform rustic English dances in celebration of the harvest. Daily admission $10. hvgf.org Saturday October 12,, 2019 12:00-4:00 Baltimore Woods Fairy Fest, Bishop Hill Road Marcellus NY Here in our own home town of Marcellus, a wonderful festival for families. Featuring all manner of special activities to celebrate the season, we'll be leading sessions of family dancing, playing music, and storytelling. For information: 315-673-1350, www.baltimorewoods.org Sunday December 1, 2019 3:30 Kallet Civic Center, 159 Main St. Oneida NY City of Oneida Parks & Recreation has put together a festive Downtown Holiday Celebration, at sites both indoors and outdoors. Bells & Motley will perform Children's/Family Christmas music at a cozy gathering at the Kallet Center, while outdoor events include horse drawn wagon rides, and a tree lighting with Santa at 6:00 pm. For a schedule: https://www.facebook.com/OneidaRec/photos/pcb.10157465035620995/10157465034260995/?type=3&theater Saturday December 7, 2019 1:00-4:00 Herkimer Home State Historic Site, Little Falls NY This is a truly amazing NYS Historic Site, and we are so looking forward to bringing our music here once again to their Holiday Celebration, complete with horse drawn wagon rides, open hearth cooking, and more. For information: 315-823-0398, https://mylittlefalls.com/event/herkimer-home-holiday-celebration/ Sunday December 8, 2019 9:30 AM St John's Episcopal Church, Corner of Orange & Maple Streets, Marcellus NY To celebrate the joyous season of Advent, Sondra & John have been invited to provide music for their home church's Sunday service. All are welcome. Call us if you have any questions! Sunday December 15, 2019 1:00-4:00 (John's Birthday!) Lorenzo State Historic Site Christmas Open House, Cazenovia NY Here's the beloved local historic site that Bells & Motley have called our special Christmas home since 1986! This is an open house event, and a lovely chance to experience the magic of another era. Our historic holiday music fills the corridors and chambers of this fine estate, decorated to the nines in celebration of the season. We promise to transport you to a time and place most rare, with bells on!.... $6 for adults, $2 children 12 and under. Location: 17 Rippleton Road, Route 13. For information: 315-655-3200, www.lorenzony.org Saturday January 25, 2020 6:00-9:00 pm Our Annual Robbie Burns Birthday Celebration Dinner Brae Loch Inn, 5 Albany St. Cazenovia, NY Mid-Winter Pageantry, Scottish Music and Traditions -- Bells & Motley's 32th Year at Brae Loch Celebration! Join us in our annual January tradition of Scottish music and pageantry ~ this is a grandest celebration where we revel in our Celtic musical roots. We'll be making music throughout the evening upon the harp, northumbrian bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, bodhran, hammered dulcimer, and more. Highlights of the evening include the traditional "Ode to Haggis" celebration as it is paraded in grandest style reekin' 'round the room. This is an incredibly warm and wondrous evening of music, traditions, and pageantry- the kind of stuff we've been made of all these fine years! The dinner menu is absolutely incredible, course after course. For extra fun, begin your evening with an intimate cocktail and our music, snuggled close-up in front of the downstairs fireplace starting at 6:00. www.braelochinn.com/special-events/burns-night Saturday February 15, 2020 2:00 **NOTICE: Concert Postponed, new date TBA Solvay Public Library, 615 Woods Rd, Solvay NY Bells & Motley perform to kick off their International Concert Series. Taking advantage of Valentine's Day weekend, this concert will include a selection of curious love songs from different cultures and eras! PAST PERFORMANCES FALL & WINTER 2018 New York State Fair, Syracuse NY August 22, 23, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 1 2018 Witter Agricultural Museum NYS Heritage instruments and music will be featured, as we pay our annual heartfelt musical tribute to local agricultural history. This superb museum has always been an inspiring part of our childhood upbringing, our historic musical work, and now as adults, towards our 1830's home restoration project in Marcellus, and ever-growing heritage gardens! Come visit us during those 8 days. Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, Saugerties NY Saturday & Sunday September 29 + 30, 2018 In its 27th year, we are excited to be invited back to perform once again both days at this prime garlic marketplace & festival! It is always such a great time, with grand entertainments -and as an added bonus, John's Morris Team the Binghamton Morris Men join with the Bowerie Boys to perform rustic English dances in celebration of the harvest. Daily admission $10. hvgf.org Tuesday November 13, 2018 5:30-6:30 pm "Olden Music Splendor, from Bards to Bagpipes" Concert Gloversville Public Library 58 East Fulton Street, Gloversville NY This performance will engage audiences of all ages and ignite a love of history, arts, and traditions. Medieval bagpipes, hurdy hurdy, harp, and other early instruments will be featured in this spirited performance of music of Medieval troubadours, Celtic bards, Village pipers, American dreamers, and more. Free admission. For more information about this, and a week of other special events to celebrate this amazing historic building's grande re-opening, call 518-725-2819 Monday November 19, 2018 All day Private Event Friday November 30, 2018 ~ Starts 6:30 pm "An International Christmas: Holiday Music & Traditions of Long Ago & Far Away" Morning Star Masonic Hall Main Street, Marcellus NY. See description below. Our concert program follows Marcellus Village Tree Lighting. Saturday December 1, 2018 ~ Starts 2:00 pm "An International Christmas: Holiday Music & Traditions of Long Ago & Far Away" Onondaga Co. Public Library, Petit Branch 105 Victoria Place, Syracuse NY. Celebrate this most joyous season with a warm & wondrous concert of traditional Yuletide music. Sondra and John perform on all manner of historic and folk instruments, and bid you join them in bringing Christmas festivities of Old to life and revelry. Come with your family, friends, and neighbors of all ages to share the season�s best at this festive gathering! Bells & Motley's lively approach appeals to all manner of music lovers, with a special attraction for family audiences. Free admission. For information: 315.435.3636, www.onlib.org Sunday December 9, 2018 1:00-4:00 Lorenzo State Historic Site Christmas Open House, Cazenovia NY Here's the beloved local historic site that Bells & Motley have called our special Christmas home since 1986! This is an open house event, and a lovely chance to experience the magic of another era. Our historic holiday music fills the corridors and chambers of this fine estate, decorated to the nines in celebration of We promise to transport you to a time and place most rare, with bells on!.... $6 for adults, $2 children 12 and under. Location: 17 Rippleton Road, Route 13. For information: 315-655-3200, www.lorenzony.org Monday December 24, 2018 ~ Starts 6:30 pm Christmas Eve Musical Service with Bells & Motley St. John's Episcopal Church 15 Orange St. Marcellus, NY Celebrate this most joyous day with warm & wondrous music. The first half hour we play for the Carol Sing, which begins with our bagpipe procession. The service, also full of music, begins at 7:00. All are welcome! SPRING & SUMMER PERFORMANCES 2018 "15 MILES ON THE ERIE CANAL"- Participatory Singalong Theater In celebration of our canal's historic anniversary, we are giving many special performances of our original "folk operetta" across the state! Thursday April 26, 2018 9:00 am Kallet Civic Center 159 Main Street, Oneida, NY "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Singalong Storytelling Theater Sponsored by Madison Co. Historical Society, and part of their "Arts Festival for Youth," this participatory Folk Operetta celebrates the 200th Anniversary of New York's Grand Erie Canal! This one is a special children's version, and vibrant with authentic historic instruments, music, costumes, tall tales, sing-alongs, and canal characters for an unforgettable experience in New York State's History. Heritage instruments include squeezeboxes, fiddle, banjo, and hurdy gurdy. For information, call MCHS 315.363.4136 Monday June 25, 2018 7:00 pm Berne Community and Senior Center 1360 Helderberg Trail, Berne NY "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Singalong Storytelling Theater This performance is intended for all ages - seniors, families, children - to bring everyone together in vibrant, exciting participation. For more information, contact Kathy Stempel, Berne Public Library 518.872.1246 Monday July 2, 2018 1:00 pm Earlville Free Library 4 North Main Street, Earlville NY "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Singalong Storytelling Theater The performance will start with a show-and-tell of the craft & music behind this performance. Families, children all ages welcome! For more information, contact Angelica Chapman, Earlville Library 315.691.5931 Wednesday July 11, 2018 1:00 pm Parma Public Library 7 West Avenue, Hilton NY "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Singalong Storytelling Theater Families, children all ages welcome! For more information, contact Amy Hogue, Parma Library 585.392.8350 Wednesday July 25, 2018 6:30 pm Angelica Free Library 55 West Main Street, Angelica NY "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Singalong Storytelling Theater Families, children all ages welcome! For more information, contact Christina Gallmann, Angelica Library 585.466.7860 Thursday July 26, 2018 6:00 pm Cady Library East River Road, Nichols NY "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Singalong Storytelling Theater Families, children all ages welcome! For more information, contact Corinne Moshier, Cady Library 607.699.3835 Wednesday August 8, 2018 6:30 pm Lisle Free Library 8998 Main Street, Lisle NY "The Boy Who Went to Visit the North Wind" and "Who Has Heard the Wind" - A Double Treasure Program! Look forward to an energetic, meaningful, & interactive tandem storytelling experience underscored with live music, resonant with historic authenticity, and alive with abundant participation. This tale of "Long Ago and Far Away" is paired with a closeup look at rare historic wind instruments made of wood, skin, reed, horn -- from early Bagpipes, to Crumhorns, Gemshorn, and more! Families, children all ages welcome! For more information, contact Cheridan Douglas, Lisle Free Library 607.692.3115 Tuesday August 14, 2018 2:00 pm Sherburne Public Library 2 East State Street, Sherburne NY "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Singalong Storytelling Theater Families, children all ages welcome! For more information, contact Colleen Law-Tefft, Sherburne Library 607.674.4242 NOTE: Event address TBA (UCC Church or Park Bandstand) Wednesday August 15, 2018 6:00 pm Your Home Public Library 107 Main Street, Johnson City NY Concert & Exploration "Music, World Instruments, and the Science of Sound" There are SO many clever ways people have used the natural material around them - wood and reeds, skins and horns, horse hair and tree resin, and much, much more - to create instruments for sharing the beauty of music, dance, and other cultural traditions together. What ideas did people discover about the science of sound to help shape their fabulous instrument inventions? Let's experiment as they did! As builders of instruments the Bromkas have many exciting instruments and insights to show & to share! Families, all ages welcome! For more information, contact Natassia Enright, Library 607.797.4816 Friday August 24, 2018 7:00-8:30 pm Brooklyn Waterfront Museum 290 Conover Street, Brooklyn NY "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Singalong Storytelling Theater An unusual venue: We will be performing in the hull of a canal boat, on the water! Families, children all ages welcome, includes an interactive close-up look at the instruments. Pat of the Waterfront Alliance's "Canal to Coast" Series. $2. admission. For more information, contact 212.935.9831 Saturday August 25, 2018 11:00 am Roeliff-Jansen Community Library 9091 Route 22, Hillsdale NY "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Singalong Storytelling Theater Families, children all ages welcome! For more information, contact Tamara Gaskell, Director 518.325.4101 Sterling Renaissance Festival 2018 ALL WEEKENDS beginning July 7-8, thru final weekend August 18-19 Bells & Motley's **42th Year** of performance since this wonderful Faire's inception in 1976! --- We'll have four different concerts each day in a variety of locations. And every faire day at noon, Bells & Motley offer a historic dance instruction session on the festival stage for your participation. Beginners and old-timers all welcome! Come kick up your heels, make new friends! www.sterlingfaire.com FALL & WINTER PERFORMANCES 2017-2018 Saturday December 9, 2017 7:00 Bells & Motley "Revels of Christmas Past" Free Concert Seneca Falls Library, Seneca Falls NY Come join in this celebration of the warmest and richest traditions of an Old-Fashioned Christmas!! Our program will knit together the young, old, shy & bold, and all manner of historic musical instruments in the perfect setting to please the eye, ear, and heart. Harp, hurdy gurdy, early bagpipes, hammered dulcimer, button accordeon, and all manner of historic bowed and plucked instruments, some built by John Bromka himself. Location: 47 Cayuga St, Seneca Falls For information: 315-568-8265, www.senecafallslibrary.org Sunday December 10, 2017 1:00-4:00 Lorenzo State Historic Site Christmas Open House, Cazenovia NY Here's the beloved local historic site that Bells & Motley have called our special Christmas home since 1986! This is an open house event, and a lovely chance to experience the magic of another era. Our historic holiday music fills the corridors and chambers of this fine estate, decorated to the nines in celebration of this year's holiday theme- "Gilded Glamour" We promise to transport you to a time and place most rare, with bells on!.... $6 for adults, $2 children 12 and under. Location: 17 Rippleton Road, Route 13. For information: 315-655-3200, www.lorenzony.org Saturday December 16, 2017 ~ Starts 2:00 pm "An International Christmas: Holiday Music & Traditions of Long Ago & Far Away" D.R. Evarts Library, Athens NY We are so excited to perform once again in this beautiful historic village's library! Celebrate this most joyous season with a warm & wondrous concert of traditional Yuletide music. Sondra and John perform on all manner of historic and folk instruments, and bid you join them in bringing Christmas festivities of Old to life and revelry. Come with your family, friends, and neighbors of all ages to share the season�s best at this festive gathering! Bells & Motley's lively approach appeals to all manner of music lovers, with a special attraction for family audiences. Free admission. Location: 80 Second Street, on the corner of Second and North Church St, Athens NY 12015 (about 5 miles north of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge) . For information: 315-518-945-1417, www.drevartslibrary.org Saturday January 27, 2018 6:00-9:00 pm Our Annual Robbie Burns Birthday Celebration Dinner Brae Loch Inn, 5 Albany St. Cazenovia, NY Mid-Winter Pageantry, Scottish Music and Traditions -- Bells & Motley's 30th Year at Brae Loch Celebration! Join us in our annual January tradition of Scottish music and pageantry ~ this is a grandest celebration where we revel in our Celtic musical roots. We'll be making music throughout the evening upon the harp, northumbrian bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, bodhran, hammered dulcimer, and more. Highlights of the evening include the traditional "Ode to Haggis" celebration as it is paraded in grandest style reekin' 'round the room. This is an incredibly warm and wondrous evening of music, traditions, and pageantry- the kind of stuff we've been made of all these fine years! The dinner menu is absolutely incredible, course after course. For extra fun, begin your evening with an intimate cocktail and our music, snuggled close-up in front of the downstairs fireplace starting at 6:00. www.braelochinn.com/special-events/burns-night WINTER-SPRING 2018 = ARTS-IN-EDUCATION SEASON This time of year is Bells & Motley's School Performance and Residency season! School-artist collaborations, interdisciplinary arts residencies, and participatory storytelling performances on various themes, supporting curriculum for grade levels K-12. Currently enjoying presenting our "Common Culture in Shakespeare's Time" multidisciplinary residency, which includes participatory music, dance, art history, student sonnet writing and theatrical performance. Ask for more information regarding available dates, other program themes we offer. SUMMER-FALL PUBLIC PERFORMANCES, 2017 Saturday June 10, 2017 12:00 Noon William B. Ogden Free Library 42 Gardiner Place, Walton, NY "Music Along the Canal" Family Concert + "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Singalong Storytelling Theater" �Music along the Canal� brings to life the sounds and stories of the immigrants who came here during the canal era through their music, instruments, costumes and dances. Hear the music again on our collection of historic instruments, including Irish harp, bagpipes, bodhran, pennywhistles, hurdy gurdy, banjo, squeezeboxes, and more. Participatory fun for the whole family, the hour-long show will begin at noon, and it is free! http://libraries.4cls.org/walton/ Sterling Renaissance Festival 2017 All weekends beginning July 1-2, thru final weekend August 12-13 Bells & Motley's **41th Year** of performance since this wonderful Faire's inception in 1976! --- We'll have four different concerts each day beginning at noon at the Applewood Stage, where our unique and wondrous Historical Instrumentarium Museum will be open for your pleasure! And every faire day at 1:30, Bells & Motley offer a historic dance instruction session on the green for your participation. Beginners and old-timers all welcome! Come kick up your heels, make new friends! www.sterlingfaire.com Wednesday July 26, 2017 3:30-5:00 Speculator Village Pavilion Rt.30 Speculator, NY "Music Along the Canal" Family Concert + "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Singalong Storytelling Theater" Lake Pleasant Library in Speculator is sponsoring a back to back program in the Village Pavilion honoring the anniversary of the Grand Erie Canal! �Music along the Canal� brings to life the sounds of the immigrants who came here during the canal era through their music, instruments, costumes and dances. Hear the music again on our collection of historic instruments, including Irish harp, bagpipes, bodhran, pennywhistles, hurdy gurdy, banjo, squeezeboxes, and more. That will be followed by a performance of our Singalong Musical Theater piece "15 Miles on the Erie Canal." Fun for the whole family, the program begins at 3:30, and it is free. Rain or Shine! http://lakepleasantlibrary.sals.edu Thursday July 27, 2017 6:00 pm B.E. Strong Memorial Library West Main Street, Turin, NY "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Singalong Musical Theater This participatory Folk Operetta celebrates the 200th Anniversary of New York's Grand Erie Canal! It is vibrant with authentic historic instruments, music, costumes, tall tales, sing-alongs, and canal characters for an unforgettable experience in New York State's History. Heritage instruments include squeezeboxes, fiddle, banjo, and hurdy gurdy. Library: (315) 348-6433 www.turinlibrary.org Saturday August 19, 2017 1:00-4:00 Gems Along the Mohawk Outdoor Amphitheater 800 Mohawk Street, Herkimer, NY "Music Along the Canal" Enjoy canal-era music performed in sparkling 19th century style on a rare collection of vintage instruments including hammered dulcimer, banjo, fiddle, hurdy gurdy, Irish harp, early squeezeboxes, canal boat horn and even more. This interactive presentation will also feature abundant singing, stories behind the music and an up-close exploration of the instruments, including some historic oddities re-created by artist John Bromka himself! Bells & Motley pass on the inspiration of art, historic preservation and participation for folks of all ages. See also "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry Along the Canal" below, November 4, 2017... New York State Fair, Syracuse NY August 23-27, 30, 31 and September 2, 2017 Witter Agricultural Museum NYS Heritage instruments and music will be featured, as we pay our annual heartfelt musical tribute to local agricultural history. This superb museum has always been an inspiring part of our childhood upbringing, our historic musical work, and now as adults, towards our 1830's home restoration project in Marcellus, and ever-growing heritage gardens! Come visit us during those 8 days - playing at 1:00 and 3:00 Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, Saugerties NY Saturday & Sunday September 30 + October 1, 2017 In its 26th year, we are excited to be invited back to perform once again both days at this prime garlic marketplace & festival! It is always such a great time, with grand entertainments -and as an added bonus, John's Morris Team the Binghamton Morris Men join with the Bowerie Boys to perform rustic English dances in celebration of the harvest. Daily admission $10. hvgf.org Sunday October 29, 2017 "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry Along the Canal" A 19th Century Thanksgiving Dinner with Bells & Motley 1:00 at Miner's Table Restaurant, Route 28 Herkimer, NY Join us for a traditional 19th century Thanksgiving Dinner as we celebrate the anniversary of the Erie Canals "Wedding of the Waters". Courses will be served family style beginning at 6:30pm at the Miners' Table Restaurant, Rt. 28, Herkimer. Following a multi course dinner, enjoy canal era music performed in sparkling 19th century style, on a rare collections of vintage instruments. This interactive presentation will also feature abundant singing and stories behind the music. Bells & Motley pass on the inspiration of art, historic preservation and participation. Attend this unique event in 19th century clothing and enjoy a complimentary beverage. Reservations are required and tickets are available at Gems Along The Mohawk beginning June 1, 2017 until October 25th 2017. Tickets are $45 each. www.gemsalongthemohawk.com WINTER PERFORMANCES, as presented in 2016 Friday December 9, 2016 6:30 Bells & Motley "Revels of Christmas Past" Free Concert Seneca Falls Library, Seneca Falls NY Come join in this celebration of the warmest and richest traditions of an Old-Fashioned Christmas!! Our program will knit together the young, old, shy & bold, and all manner of historic musical instruments in the perfect setting to please the eye, ear, and heart. Harp, hurdy gurdy, early bagpipes, hammered dulcimer, button accordeon, and all manner of historic bowed and plucked instruments, some built by John Bromka himself. Location: 47 Cayuga St, Seneca Falls For information: 315-568-8265, www.senecafallslibrary.org Saturday & Sunday December 10-11, 2016 1:00-4:00 Lorenzo State Historic Site Christmas Open House, Cazenovia NY Here's the beloved local historic site that Bells & Motley have called our special Christmas home since 1986! This is an open house event, and a lovely chance to experience the magic of another era. Our historic holiday music fills the corridors and chambers of this fine estate, decorated to the nines in celebration of this year's holiday theme- "Dreaming of a White Christmas" We promise to transport you to a time and place most rare, with bells on!.... $6 for adults, $1 children 12 and under. Location: 17 Rippleton Road, Route 13. For information: 315-655-3200, www.lorenzony.org Friday December 16, 2016 6:30-8:30 Bells & Motley "Christmas Around the World & Across Time" New Lebanon Library, New Lebanon NY The evocative sounds of the arraye of rare historic and folk musical instruments will lead you into the nooks and crannies of France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the British Isles in a celebration of Christmas traditions in many lands. From festive tunes for dance and procession, to evocative ballads and songs for chorusing - this rich and festive holiday musical program features seasonal aires, songs, and traditions. Instruments include the hurdy gurdy, French and Northumbrian bagpipes, Celtic harp, Swedish nykleharpa, Irish pennywhistle, and much more. Location: 550 State Route 20, New Lebanon NY For information: 518-794-8844, www.newlebanonlibrary.org Saturday December 17, 2016 2:00-3:00 Bells & Motley "Revels of Christmas Past" Free Concert Onondaga Hill Free Library, Syracuse NY The duo Bells & Motley Olden Music offer a celebration of the warmest and richest musical traditions of an Old-Fashioned Christmas! The program will bring together many historic bowed and plucked musical instruments (some built by John Bromka himself, one-half of this dynamic duo) which is sure to please the eye, ear and heart. Folks of all ages enjoy this delightful spirit of Christmas camaraderie at its best, with a hearty & profound thanks to you folks who join us at this event each year! Huzzah! Location: 4840 West Seneca Turnpike, Onondaga Hill For information: 315-492-1727, www.oflibrary.org Saturday January 21, 2017 6:00-9:00 pm Our Annual Robbie Burns Birthday Celebration Dinner Brae Loch Inn, 5 Albany St. Cazenovia, NY Mid-Winter Pageantry, Scottish Music and Traditions -- Our 29th Year! Start an annual January tradition of Scottish music and pageantry with Bells & Motley ~ In this grand celebration of our Celtic musical roots, John and Sondra will be singing and playing the whole night upon the harp, northumbrian bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, bodhran, hammered dulcimer, and more. Highlights of the evening include the "Ode to Haggis" celebration as it is paraded in grandest style reekin' 'round the room. This is an incredibly warm and wondrous evening of music, traditions, and pageantry- the kind of stuff we've been made of all these years! For extra fun, begin your evening with a cocktail and music snuggled close-up in front of the fireplace starting at 6:00. www.braelochinn.com/special-events/burns-night A SAMPLING OF PERFORMANCES, EARLIER IN 2016 Friday April 15, 2016 Celebrate Shakespeare's 400th! Renaissance Music & Dance Onondaga Community College, Syracuse NY 11:15-12:15 College Hour On the Quad Sterling Renaissance Festival 2016 All weekends beginning July 2-3, thru final weekend August 13-14 Bells & Motley's **40th Year** of performance since this wonderful Faire's inception in 1976! --- We'll have four different concerts each day at the Applewood Stage, where our unique and wondrous Historical Instrumentarium Museum will be open for your pleasure! And every faire day at high noon, Bells & Motley offer a historic dance instruction session on the green for your participation. Beginners and old-timers all welcome! Come kick up your heels! www.sterlingfaire.com Tuesday July 12, 2016 Thornden Park Carriage House, Syracuse, NY Shakespeare Summer Camp Every year, Bells & Motley work intensively with a group of children on the music, instruments, and dance of Shakespeare's theater. This year's theme: Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew." Program begins 10:00 AM. Pre-Registration required. August 10, 17*, 24, 27*, 28*, 2016 "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Community Musical Folk Pageant Jordanville Public Library, 189 Main St, Jordanville NY Music was an integral part of life & recreation for the men and women working the canal, and Sondra and John�s historic pageant draws in the community as active participants. Folks are invited to bring their own stringed instruments (or harmonicas, accordions, ... also welcome :-) and thus become part of the band, and of course all will be gathered to sing along. Through a series of workshops, the goal will be to bring together travelers and residents as collaborators in a featured finale musical theatre performance - to enjoy each other's good company, talents, and maybe even participate themselves! Leading up to the finale performance, folks may opt to take part in a Tale Writing workshop, and perform your own Tale as part of this event. All ages welcome. For Information, inquiries, or to claim a place as participating musician, singer, or the Tall Tale Team: Contact Bells & Motley, or Laurie Crockett, Library Director & Project Partner 315-858-2874 Laurie leads music workshops on Aug. 10+24; the Bromkas join August 17, 27, 28 Find details & complete schedule at www.midyorklib.org/jordanville Note: reservations are helpful for planning, but not required! Free! Saturday August 20, 2016 Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library Renaissance Day! 475 Moe Rd, Clifton Park, Saratoga Co. This Library Renaissance Faire Day opens at 11:00 am with a Bells & Motley Olden Music Concert, followed by up-close exploration of our instruments, ushering in a magical day of period performers and demonstrations. See www.cphlibrary.org for schedule and details. Thursday-Saturday August 25, 26, 27, 2016 New York State Fair, Syracuse NY Witter Agricultural Museum NYS Heritage instruments and music will be featured, as we pay a heartfelt musical tribute to our local history. This superb agricultural museum has always been an inspiring part of our childhood upbringing, our historic musical work, and now as adults, towards our 1830's home restoration project in Marcellus, and ever-growing heritage gardens! Come visit us, and enjoy our 2 shows each day: Thursday August 25 at 1:00 & 3:00 Friday August 26 at 1:00 & 3:00 Saturday August 27 at 11:00 & 1:00 Sunday September 18, 2016 Westcott Street Cultural Festival, Syracuse, NY "The Boy Who Went to Visit the North Wind" A Singalong Musical Storytelling Performance for all Ages Look forward to an energetic, meaningful, & interactive tandem storytelling experience underscored with live music, resonant with historic authenticity, and alive with abundant participation. The Festival runs from Noon-6:30, and Bells & Motley is currently set to perform on the lawn outside Petit Library 4:25-5:00. www.westcottstreetfair.org. Saturday & Sunday October 1 + 2, 2016 Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, Saugerties NY In its 26th year, we are excited to be invited back to perform once again both days at this prime garlic marketplace & festival! It is always such a great time, with grand entertainments -and as an added bonus, John's Morris Team the Binghamton Morris Men join with the Bowerie Boys to perform rustic English dances in celebration of the harvest. Daily admission $10. hvgf.org SPRING 2016 = ARTS-IN-EDUCATION SEASON Bells & Motley's School Performance and Residency season! School-artist collaborations, interdisciplinary arts residencies, and participatory storytelling performances on various themes, supporting curriculum for grade levels K-12. Currently enjoying presenting our "Common Culture in Shakespeare's Time" multidisciplinary residency, which includes participatory music, dance, art history, student sonnet writing and theatrical performance. Ask for more information regarding available dates, other program themes we offer. WINTER SEASON 2015-2016 Monday November 30, 2015 7:00 pm "Mark Twain's 180th Birthday Celebration" Historic Cowles Hall, Elmira College, Elmira NY The evening includes a lecture presentation "Revisiting Mark Twain's Writings For, and About Children," a Birthday Cake, and a festive musical party of period music & instruments in his honor. www.elmira.edu Sunday December 6, 2015 1:00-4:00 Lorenzo State Historic Site Christmas Open House, Cazenovia NY Here's the beloved local historic site that Bells & Motley have called our special Christmas home since 1986! This is an open house event, and a lovely chance to experience the magic of another era. Our historic holiday music fills the corridors and chambers of this fine estate, decorated to the nines in celebration of this year's inspired theme: The Nutcracker! We promise to transport you to a time and place most rare, with bells on!.... $6 for adults, $1 children 12 and under. Location: 17 Rippleton Road, Route 13. For information: 315-655-3200, www.lorenzony.org Saturday December 12, 2015 Party begins at 3:00, Dancing 5:00-6:30 "Fezziwig's Old Time Christmas Celebration" - Open Mic, Dancing, Potluck Open House Kellish Hill Music Farm, 3192 Pompey Center Rd, Manlius NY Come dance with John at Fezziwig's Ball, in the fanciest historic barn you'll ever see. It will be Dickens, Christmas, and English Country Dance all at once! He will be working with musician John Harnois, along with 3 of our favorite costumed core dancers from Sterling Renaissance, to teach you our favorite historic dances on the spot. Victorian attire is encouraged. Though not required, here's your opportunity to add some extra color, and be a true Fezziwig Companion! You won't be alone in your festive attire, that's a promise! Before the dancing will be a Christmas open mic, and afterwards a festive potluck at 7:30. Donations requested for music/dance portion, and another to the Farm to cover the food and to keep the music flowing on the Hill. See www.kellishhillfarm.com. Saturday December 19, 2015 2:00-3:00 Bells & Motley "Revels of Christmas Past" Free Concert Onondaga Hill Free Library, Syracuse NY Come join in this celebration of the warmest and richest traditions of an Old-Fashioned Christmas!! Our program will knit together the young, old, shy & bold, and all manner of historic musical instruments in the perfect setting to please the eye, ear, and heart. Harp, hurdy gurdy, early bagpipes, hammered dulcimer, button accordeon, and all manner of historic bowed and plucked instruments, some built by John Bromka himself. Refreshments follow the concert. Don't miss this delightful spirit of Christmas camaraderie at its best, with a hearty thanks to you folks who join us each year! Location: 4840 West Seneca Turnpike, Onondaga Hill For information: 315-492-1727, www.oflibrary.org Sunday January 3, 2016 10:00 am start Bells & Motley Music at Sunday Lessons & Carols Service St. David's Episcopal Church, 14 Jamar Drive Fayetteville NY 13066 We invite you to join us in our beloved church for a very special Lessons & Carols service. Bells & Motley will play a selection of their most favorite music for the season, alternating with a combined choir that features singers of St. Davids, St Albans, and St. Emmanuel Episcopal Churches, directed by Joel Barnett, with Ian Kirpatrick on organ. All are very welcome! (Plus - it's Sondra's birthday!) Service begins at 10:00, and after the service, do please stay and enjoy eachothers' company at coffee hour. So happy to be doing this again! (To find the church - across from Wegman's in Dewitt/Fayetteville, take Maple Drive about 1/3 of a mile, turn right on Jamar Drive, and it's at the end of one short block. Saturday January 23, 2016 6:00-9:00 pm Our Annual Robbie Burns Birthday Celebration Dinner Brae Loch Inn, 5 Albany St. Cazenovia, NY Mid-Winter Pageantry, Scottish Music and Traditions -- Our 28th Year! Start an annual January tradition of Scottish music and pageantry with Bells & Motley ~ In this grand celebration of our Celtic musical roots, John and Sondra will be singing and playing the whole night upon the harp, northumbrian bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, bodhran, hammered dulcimer, and more. Highlights of the evening include the "Ode to Haggis" celebration as it is paraded in grandest style reekin' 'round the room. This is an incredibly warm and wondrous evening of music, traditions, and pageantry- the kind of stuff we've been made of all these years! For extra fun, begin your evening with a cocktail and music snuggled close-up in front of the fireplace starting at 6:00. www.braelochinn.com/special-events/burns-night SUMMER-FALL 2015 Sterling Renaissance Festival 2015 All weekends beginning July 4-5, thru final weekend August 15-16 Bells & Motley's 39th year of performance since this wonderful Faire's inception in 1976! --- We'll have four different concerts each day at the Applewood Stage, where our unique and wondrous Historical Instrumentarium Museum will be open for your pleasure! And every faire day at high noon, Bells & Motley offer a historic dance instruction session on the green behind the Shipwreck Stage for your participation. Beginners and old-timers all welcome! Come kick up your heels! www.sterlingfaire.com Fridays June 12, 19, 6:00-7:15 and Saturdays June 13, 20, 5:30-7:15 Onondaga Historical Association's "Ghostwalk" at Historic Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse NY John Bromka will be acting in one of the five scenarios at this year's Historic Ghostwalk! John is very excited to be playing the part of the Abolitionist Unitarian minister Reverend Samuel Joseph May, alongside his famous niece Louisa May Alcott. Stroll among the spirits and discover a pathway into the past through the picturesque �old section� of Oakwood Cemetery. Meet some of the fascinating folks that reside there and hear their stories. www.cnyhistory.org Tuesday July 7, 2015 "Bawshou & The Dragon" Traditional Chinese Folk Pageant of Heroism Utica Public Library, 303 Genesee St. Utica NY What would you do if the Sun was captured by a powerful Dragon, and hidden in a cave, deep beneath the sea? In this traditional Chinese tale of wonder and adventure, our young hero Bawshou bravely sets out to rescue the Sun with the help of a magic golden Phoenix, to meet the Dragon's three challenges. Featuring costumes, dance, and storytelling techniques of the orient, the action and mystique of the tale are highlighted by live music on authentic Chinese traditional stringed, wind, and percussion instruments, including pipa, erhu, moon lute, gong, temple bells, drum, & guzhung (ancient Chinese zither harp.) Delightfully participatory! Fantastical Dragon Mask-making Workshops Before the performance, children will learn about different types of historic dragons, and create masks of their own to wear in the "Bawshou" Pageant. Other exciting roles to be played in that performance include Star Dancers! Lantern Dancers! River Shakers! ceremonial Gong Sounders! And of course, the sinuous Dragon itself! More Information and to reserve a place in the mask-making workshop: Joshua Carlson, Director of Youth Services 315-735-2279 www.uticapubliclibrary.org Maskmaking workshop begins 9:30 AM, Performance at 11:00 AM Wednesday July 8, 2015 Thornden Park Carriage House, Syracuse, NY Shakespeare Summer Camp Every year, Bells & Motley work intensively with a group of children on the music, instruments, and dance of Shakespeare's day. This year's theme: Shakespeare's "All's Well That Ends Well." Program begins 10:00 AM. Pre-Registration required. www.syrsf.org/Kids_Doing_Shakespeare.html Sunday August 23, 2015 "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Community Musical Folk Pageant Jordanville Public Library, 189 Main St, Jordanville NY Music was an integral part of life for the men and women working the canal, and Sondra and John have created a true community pageant that draws in the audience as active participants. Community members will be invited to bring their own stringed instruments (or harmonica or accordions also welcome :-) and thus become part of the band, and of course all will be encouraged to sing along. The goal will be to bring together travelers and residents as collaborators in the artists' featured finale musical theatre performance - to enjoy each other's good company, talents, and maybe even participate themselves! Audiences of all ages welcome. Workshop + Performance Suite as follows: 2:00 "Music, Instruments, and Culture Along the Historic Erie Canal" The event opens with a Canal-Era Show & Tell musical presentation by artists 3:00 Get A Cue! Audience Sing-along, Play-Along Party - rehearsal of music for the finale performance 4:00 "15 Miles on the Erie Canal" Finale Participatory Musical Pageant Performance For more Information, advance music printouts, and to claim a place in the band: Laurie Crockett, Director 315-858-2874 www.midyorklib.org/jordanville Note: reservations are helpful for planning, but not required! Free! Thursday September 3, 2015 New York State Fair, Syracuse NY Agricultural Museum NYS Heritage instruments and music will be featured, as we pay a heartfelt musical tribute to our local history. This superb agricultural museum has always been an inspiring part of our childhood upbringing, our historic musical work, and now as adults, towards our 1830's home restoration project in Marcellus, and ever-growing heritage gardens! Come visit us, and enjoy our 2 shows - 11:00 and 2:30 Saturday & Sunday September 26 + 27, 2015 Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, Saugerties NY In its 25th year, we are excited to be invited back to perform once again both days at this prime garlic marketplace & festival! It is always such a great time, with grand entertainments -and as an added bonus, John's Morris Team the Binghamton Morris Men join with the Bowerie Boys to perform rustic English dances in celebration of the harvest. Daily admission $10. hvgf.org Saturday & Sunday October 10 + 11, 2015 Taste of the Catskills Festival, Delhi NY This is a family friendly event that showcases the crafts, food, beer, and wine of the region. You'll be delighted by lots of great music each day, and Bells & Motley has been invited to perform music and participatory storytelling BOTH days! More information: www.tasteofthecatskills.com Sunday December 6, 2015 1:00-4:00 Lorenzo State Historic Site Christmas Open House, Cazenovia NY Here's the beloved local historic site that Bells & Motley have called our Christmas home since 1986! It's an open house event, and a lovely chance to experience the magic of another era. Our historic holiday music fills the corridors and chambers of this fine estate, decorated to the nines, each year with a different theme. We promise to transport you to a time and place most rare.... $5 for adults, $2 kids under 12. Location: 17 Rippleton Road, Route 13. For information: 315-655-3200, www.lorenzony.org Saturday December 19, 2015 2:00-3:00 Bells & Motley "Revels of Christmas Past" Concert Onondaga Hill Free Library, Syracuse NY Come join in this celebration of the warmest and richest traditions of an Old-Fashioned Christmas!! Our program will knit together the young, old, shy & bold, and all manner of historic musical instruments in the perfect setting to please the eye, ear, and heart. Harp, hurdy gurdy, early bagpipes, hammered dulcimer, button accordeon, and all manner of historic bowed and plucked instruments, some built by John Bromka himself. Refreshments follow the concert. Don't miss this delightful spirit of Christmas camaraderie at its best! Location: 4840 West Seneca Turnpike, Onondaga Hill For information: 315-492-1727, www.oflibrary.org WINTER INTO SPRING 2015 = ARTS-IN-EDUCATION SEASON! Like the blooming of the flowers, Bells & Motley's School Performance and Residency season comes into full swing. School-artist collaborations, interdisciplinary arts residencies, and musical storytelling performances on various themes for all grade levels. Sunday January 4, 2015 10:00 am start Bells & Motley Music at Sunday Service for Epiphany St. David's Episcopal Church, 14 Jamar Drive DeWitt NY The music for the season of Epiphany is truly our most favorite of all the year! Come join us in our own home church as we animate the service with music from prelude to postlude, and everything in between. Celtic Harp, Hammered Dulcimer, Northumbrian Bagpipes, Hurdy Gurdy, Cittern, more... All are very welcome! www.stdavidscny.org Saturday January 24, 2015 6:00-9:00 pm Our Annual Robbie Burns Birthday Celebration Dinner Brae Loch Inn, 5 Albany St. Cazenovia, NY Mid-Winter Pageantry, Scottish Music and Traditions -- Our 27th Year! In this grand celebration of our Celtic musical roots, John and Sondra will be singing and playing the whole night upon the harp, northumbrian bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, bodhran, hammered dulcimer, and more. Highlights of the evening include the "Ode to Haggis" celebration as it is paraded in grandest style reekin' 'round the room. This is an incredibly warm and wondrous evening of music, traditions, and pageantry- the kind of stuff we've been made of all these years! For extra fun, begin your evening with a cocktail and music in front of the fireplace starting at 6:00. www.braelochinn.com/special-events/burns-night Start an annual mid-winter tradition of Scottish music and pageantry with Bells & Motley ~ Look for us again at Brae Loch's Burns Night on Saturday January 23rd, 2016 IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BOOK A BELLS & MOTLEY PERFORMANCE, or WISH TO SIGN UP TO RECEIVE A BI-ANNUAL EMAIL OF OUR PUBLIC PERFORMANCES, E-Mail Bells & Motley and ![]() ![]() Saturday January 25, 2014 6:00-9:00 pm Our Annual Robbie Burns Scottish Celebration Dinner at the Brae Loch, Cazenovia, NY In this grand celebration of our Celtic musical roots, John and I'll be singing and playing the whole night upon the harp, bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, bodhran, hammered dulcimer, and more. Highlights of the evening include the celebration of the haggis as it is paraded in grandest style reekin' 'round the room. This is an incredibly warm and wondrous evening of music, tradition, and pageantry- the kind of stuff we've been made of all these years! And this year John and I celebrate our 26th year with the Brae Loch! Cocktails at 6:00, 7 Course Traditional Scottish Meal at 7:00. In addition to ourselves, entertainment includes even more bagpipers, traditional Scottish dancers, a dramatic Robbie Burns Poetry Reading, and in the Brae Loch tradition, a 7-Course Scottish Feast beyond your imagination! (Just thinking about it makes me swoon in anticipation.) More information, Reservations, or to go all out and book a room for the night: 315-655-3431 www.braelochinn.com/special-events/burns-night Friday January 31, 2014 6:00-9:00 pm SUNY ESF Renaissance Arts Revels Event, Syracuse, NY Performing music and teaching historic dances at a special gathering for ESF Students! WINTER INTO SPRING = ARTS-IN-EDUCATION SEASON! Like the blooming of the flowers, Bells & Motley's School Performance and Residency season comes into full swing. School-artist collaborations, interdisciplinary arts residencies, and musical storytelling performances on various themes for all grade levels. If you would like to preview one of our programs in your area, please inquire. SUMMER-FALL 2014 Monday June 16, 2014 11:30-1:00 Town of Clay - Celebrate All That is French! Bells & Motley perform traditional music on instruments from the French provinces, and teach their favorite French dances, in honor of language class participants. Outdoors on the green at the Clay Town Hall, 4401 Route 31, Clay NY. The program is free to the public, but the lunch is catered, and requires advance payment to partake. Contact us for more information! Tuesday July 8, 2014 Thornden Park Carriage House, Syracuse, NY Shakespeare Summer Camp Every year, Bells & Motley work intensively with a group of children on the music, instruments, and dance of Shakespeare's day. This year's theme: Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." Registration required. Tuesday July 15 2014, 7:00 pm East Greenbush Community Library, East Greenbush NY "The Boy Who Went to Visit the North WInd" + "Who Has Heard the Wind" Double Program! Sondra and John bring audiences on a wind-swept journey to long ago and far away with the telling of the traditional tale The Boy Who Went to Visit the North Wind. Look forward to an energetic tandem storytelling performance, underscored with live music on the Celtic harp, with abundant and engaging participation well suited to audiences of all ages. The tale will be ushered in with an interactive early music mini-concert Who Has Heard the Wind, featuring rare and wondrous historic wind instruments. Enjoyed by young and old! 10 Community Way, East Greenbush 518-477-7476 Sterling Renaissance Festival 2014 All weekends beginning July 5-6, thru final weekend August 16-17 Bells & Motley's 37th year of performance since this wonderful Faire's inception in 1977! --- Join us for our concerts at our old Applewood Stage of yore, plus a historic dance instruction session on the Shipwreck Stage for your participation. Kick up your heels! www.sterlingfaire.com Thursday July 31 2014 MonteViola, Home of Bells & Motley 36 South Street, Marcellus NY The American Traveling Morrice Dances! Sondra and John invite you to gather in our backyard at noon for a very special event. We have the four morris teams known as "The American Traveling Morrice" converging at our home to dance, bestowing all good things upon our house and gardens! 40 dancers representing teams from Toronto, Boston, NY, and Binghamton Morris (which is John's own team) - all coming together to perform this ancient English dance. Immediately after, we'll be hosting a potluck lunch-on-the-lawn for friends and neighbors in conjunction with this. Bring a chair, a dish to pass, and come party like it's 1600! RSVP please, 315-673-2995 or sbromka(at)bellsandmotley.com Wednesday August 13 2014, 7:00 pm "From Art to Wood to Music: Sculpted Sound" The Art of Making and Playing Historic Instruments Worcester Free Library, NY Lively Medieval and Renaissance music on period instruments, coupled with a luthiery display that includes musical instruments still in progress, plans, drawings, and more, to help explain the art and craft of re-creating period stringed instruments. Researched and created by John and Sondra Bromka, this guided musical tour includes music, an up-close exploration of rare instruments, and photos taken during our European journeys in search of medieval frescoes, sculptures, and paintings that show early musical instruments in the hands of angels, grotesques, and even people. Fascinating for children as well as adults. At Wieting Theater, 168 Main Street Thursday August 28, 2014 New York State Fair, Syracuse NY Agricultural Museum NYS Heritage instruments and music will be featured, as we pay a heartfelt musical tribute to our local history. This superb agricultural museum has always been an inspiring part of our childhood upbringing, our historic musical work, and now as adults, towards our 1830's home restoration project in Marcellus, and expansive heritage gardens! Come visit us, and enjoy! 2 shows - 11:00 and 3:00 Friday & Saturday September 12 & 13, 2014 Church of the Resurrection, Oswego NY Renaissance Youth Festival A two-day multi-generational event with Period Food, Music Performance & Instrument Show-and-Tell, Costume-Making, Art History Discussion, Dance Instruction, and other historic activities! Contact Bells & Motley for more information. Free and open to the Public. Saturday September 27, 2014 Begins 5:30 Marlboro College, Marlboro VT Our 2nd Annual Medieval Festival Event includes Medieval Feast, Period Music Performance and Show-and-Tell, Dance Instruction, and more, led by Bells & Motley October 2014 NY, PA Public and Home School performances and workshops for students; Inquire. Monday December 1, 2014 Town of Clay Treelighting Festival, Clay NY Splendiferous Event runs 5:00-8:00, with our music kicking off the first hour from 5:00-6:00 Welcome in the Season of Christmas with festivities that begins with Bells & Motley's Music, followed by other diverse activities, including a Yule Mummer Play, Morris Dancing, live animal Nativity scene, Bonfire, Caroling, and much, much more! Sounds like a great kick-off to the season, doesn't it! Sunday December 7, 2014 1:00-4:00 Lorenzo State Historic Site Candlelight Open House, Cazenovia NY Here's the beloved local historic site open house that we have called our Christmas home since 1986! It's an open house, and a lovely chance to experience the magic of another era with our music filling all the corridors and chambers warmed by candlelight. Come enjoy our holiday music in an evocative historic setting. We promise to transport you to a time and place most rare.... $5 for adults, $2 kids under 12. Location: 17 Rippleton Road, Route 13. For information: 315-655-3200, www.lorenzony.org Thursday December 11, 2014 7:00-8:00 "An International Christmas - Musical Traditions of Long Ago and Far Away" at Salina Library, Mattydale NY The evocative sounds of the arraye of rare historic and folk musical instruments will lead you into the nooks and crannies of France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the British Isles in a celebration of holiday traditions in many lands. From festive tunes for dance and procession, to evocative ballads and songs for chorusing - this rich and festive holiday musical program features seasonal aires, songs, and traditions. Instruments include the ancient hurdy gurdy and hammered dulcimer, French and Northumbrian bagpipes, Celtic harp, Swedish nykleharpa, Irish pennywhistle, and more. Library location: 100 Belmont Street, Mattydale NY. For information: 315-454-4524, Library. Wednesday & Thursday December 17+18, 2014 Bells & Motley's "The Olden Music and Traditions of Christmas" Holiday School Performances, Dutchess County Wednesday December 17, 2014 ~ Starts 6:30 pm Bells & Motley's "Welcome Yule: A Bells & Motley Musical Celebration of Early Christmas Traditions" D.R. Evarts Library, Athens NY We are so excited to present our Yuletide Celebration in music once again in this beautiful historic village! Celebrate this most joyous season with a warm & wondrous concert of traditional Yuletide music. Sondra and John perform on all manner of historic and folk instruments, and bid you join them in bringing Christmas festivities of Old to life and revelry. Come with your family, friends, and neighbors of all ages to share the season�s best at this festive gathering! Bells & Motley's lively approach appeals to all manner of music lovers, with a special attraction for family audiences. Free admission. Location: 80 Second Street, on the corner of Second and North Church St, Athens NY 12015 (about 5 miles north of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge) . For information: 315-518-945-1417, www.drevartslibrary.org Friday December 19, 2014 ~ Start time 1:00 Bells & Motley's "The Olden Music and Traditions of Christmas," Catskill NY We would like to invite children, families, middling adults, and seniors for this very special and favorite event! Catskill Library sponsors our annual Bells & Motley performance "The Olden Music & Traditions of Christmas" to celebrate the spirit of Christmas and Community. We hope to bring together folks of all ages to delight together in the sounds and sights of this spectacular assortment of antique instruments from days gone by. The program will be held at the Washington Irving Senior Center, 15 Academy Street, Catskill NY 12414. For information: call the Senior Center 518-943-1343, or Catskill Library 518-943-4230 www.catskillpubliclibrary.org Saturday December 20, 2014 2:00-3:00 Bells & Motley "Revels of Christmas Past" Concert Onondaga Hill Free Library, Syracuse NY Come join in this celebration of the warmest and richest traditions of an Old-Fashioned Christmas!! Our program will knit together the young, old, shy & bold, and all manner of historic musical instruments in the perfect setting to please the eye, ear, and heart. Harp, hurdy gurdy, early bagpipes, hammered dulcimer, button accordeon, and all manner of historic bowed and plucked instruments, some built by John Bromka himself. Refreshments follow the concert. Don't miss this delightful spirit of Christmas camaraderie at its best! Location: 4840 West Seneca Turnpike, Onondaga Hill For information: 315-492-1727, www.oflibrary.org ....Find 2015 PERFORMANCES at top of listing.... IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BOOK A PERFORMANCE, or TO RECEIVE A BI-ANNUAL EMAIL OF OUR SEASON'S PERFORMANCES, E-Mail Bells & Motley and ![]() ![]() January 9-11, 2013 Franklin Central School, Franklin NY Artists-in-Residence Medieval Book Arts: Teaching the arts of Medieval Illumination, book binding, and calligraphy January 17, 2013 --> date changed to February 12, 2013 Herkimer BOCES, Herkimer NY Artists-in-Residence, Honors Students Medieval Humanities: Music & Instruments, Dance, Costuming, Illumination Arts Friday January 25, 2013 Evening Private Celebration Party Saturday January 26, 2013 6:00-9:00 pm Annual Robbie Burns Scottish Celebration Dinner at the Brae Loch, Cazenovia, NY In this grand return to our Celtic roots, we'll be playing harp, bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, bodhran, in celebration of the haggis as it is paraded reekin' 'round the room. It's a warm evening of music, tradition, and pageantry. This year John and I celebrate our 25th year with Robbie! For more Information, Reservations, Prices: 315-655-4844 www.braelochinn.com February 7-8, 2013 Chinese New Year Celebration Pageant at McNamera Elementary, Baldwinsville, NY Fantastical Dragon Mask and Ornamental Lantern-making Workshops see descriptions for public version of program below, at Pine Hills Call Artists if you wish to preview; we will make arrangements Saturday February 9, 2013 Chinese New Year Celebration Pageant at Pine Hills Public Library, Albany, NY What would you do if the Sun was captured by a powerful Dragon, and hidden in a cave, deep beneath the sea? In this traditional Chinese tale of wonder and adventure, the young boy Bawshou bravely sets out to rescue the Sun with the help of a magic golden Phoenix, to meet the Dragon's three challenges. Featuring costumes, dance, and storytelling techniques of the orient, the action and mystique of the tale are highlighted by the artists performing live music on authentic Chinese traditional stringed, wind, and percussion instruments, including pipa, erhu, moon lute, gong, temple bells, drum, & guzhung (ancient Chinese zither harp.) Fantastical Dragon Mask and Ornamental Lantern-making Workshops Before the performance, participants will learn about different types of historic dragons, and create masks of their own to wear in the "Bawshou" Pageant. Other exciting roles to be played in that performance include Star Dancers! Lantern Dancers! River Shakers! ceremonial Gong Sounders! And of course, the sinuous Dragon itself! For more Information: Christine Havens, 518-482-7911 ext 223 Sunday March 3, 2013 10:00 AM Service, 3:00 Concert "Celtic Celebration of Olde" Early Celtic Traditions Concert, St. David's Episcopal Church, DeWitt, NY Come join John and Sondra on this special day as they add their musical embellishments to the church's morning worship service in celebration of Welsh Patron Saint, St. David. That same afternoon, the Bromkas continue the celebration with a special concert of music from all of the Celtic cultures - not just Wales, but other outposts of Celtic culture, including Brittany France and Galicia Spain. The Bells & Motley Celtic musical instrument collection will be very happy that day! Admission $10. St. David's Church is named for David, the 6th Century bishop of Wales, and an early promoter of Christianity. 14 Jamar Drive, just off Maple Drive, between Genesee Street and Woodchuck Hill Road in DeWitt NY. For information: 315-446-2112 www.stdavidscny.org Saturday March 9, 2013 begins 7:30 pm "Celtic Muse & Minstrelsy" Robinson Memorial Concert Series, Westvale, NY Celtic harp, bagpipes, hurdy gurdy, button boxes, fiddle, and more! Bells & Motley Celtic Consort offer a special concert of early and medieval Gaelic and Celtic music. These have always been the lands of poets and fervid musical participations, especially in those mythic days of the early middle ages. How did all this music and poetry come to be? And how does it relate to other medieval musical and poetic traditions? Our plan is to draw together these lines of inquiry through myth and manuscript, fact, fiction, and musical storytelling. The concert will span 500 years of early music history and traditions, including a setting by John of that famous Scottish balled of poetic initiation, �Thomas Rhymer and the Queen of Elfland." Tickets are $14 at the door, $12 advance. And thank you, in advance, for supporting our local concert series! 126 South Terry Road, Syracuse NY 13219 Information and advance tickets: 315-468-2509 www.robinsonmem.org March through June Arts-in-Education Performances, Workshops, Integrated Humanities Residencies While our school performances are generally closed to the public, if you would like to preview a school performance, give a call at 315-673-2995 and we'll see what we can arrange. Sterling Renaissance Festival 2013 All weekends beginning July 6-7, thru final weekend August 17-18 Bells & Motley's 36th year of performance since this wonderful Faire's inception in 1977! --- Join us for our concerts at our old Applewood Stage of yore, plus a historic dance instruction session for your participation. Kick up your heels! www.sterlingfaire.com Tuesday July 9, 2013 Thornden Park Carriage House, Syracuse, NY Shakespeare Summer Camp Every year, Bells & Motley work intensively with a group of children on the music, instruments, and dance of Shakespeare's day. This year's theme: Shakespeare's "Winter's Tale." Registration required. Tuesday July 16, 2013 10-11 am Franklin Library, Franklin NY "Bawshou & The Dragon" Traditional Chinese Folk Pageant What would you do if the Sun was captured by a powerful Dragon, and hidden in a cave, deep beneath the sea? In this traditional Chinese tale of wonder and adventure, the young boy Bawshou bravely sets out to rescue the Sun with the help of a magic golden Phoenix, to meet the Dragon's three challenges. Featuring costumes, dance, and storytelling techniques of the orient, the action and mystique of the tale are highlighted by live music on authentic Chinese traditional stringed, wind, and percussion instruments, including pipa, erhu, moon lute, gong, temple bells, drum, & guzhung (ancient Chinese zither harp.) Tuesday July 16, 2013 Cobleskill Community Library, Cobleskill NY "Bawshou & The Dragon" Traditional Chinese Folk Pageant (See "Bawshou" performance description above, Franklin Library) Fantastical Dragon Mask and Ornamental Lantern-making Workshops Before the performance, participants will learn about different types of historic dragons, and create masks of their own to wear in the "Bawshou" Pageant. Other exciting roles to be played in that performance include Star Dancers! Lantern Dancers! River Shakers! ceremonial Gong Sounders! And of course, the sinuous Dragon itself! More Information and to reserve a place in the workshop: Devon Hedges, Director 518-234-7897 www.comlibrary.org Maskmaking workshop begins 3:00, Performance at 4:00 Thursday July 18, 2013 6:30 pm Northern Onondaga Public Library 8686 Knowledge Lane, Cicero, NY "Olden Music Splendor, From Bards to Bagpipes" Family Concert Enjoy traditional Medieval, Renaissance and Early American music performed on the group's stunning collection of historic instruments, many built by the Bromkas themselves. Their performance will engage audiences of all ages and ignite a love of history, arts and traditions. Medieval bagpipes, hurdy gurdy, harp, and other early instruments will be featured in this spirited performance of the music of Medieval troubadours, Celtic bards, Village pipers, American dreamers, and more. Monday-Friday Weekdays of July: ENLIGHTEN - Creative Arts Summer Camp with Bells & Motley CNY Center for the Arts 14 Jamar Drive, Fayetteville, NY Theme 1, Weeks One and Two - July 8-12 and July 15-19 Theme 2, Weeks Three and Four - July 22-26 and July 29-August 2 Our campers will enjoy learning about different cultures, their history, and various forms of artistic expression around the world and across time, by participating in historic musical storytelling with Bells & Motley. In each week-long session we will learn the story and its background, and according to program, make costumes, masks, props, and sing and experiment with story-appropriate musical instruments. Each program will conclude with a Friday afternoon performance pageant of storytelling, music, and dance. Theme 1: �Bawshou & The Dragon� Traditional Chinese Folk Pageant Exploring Chinese Cultural Traditions through story, symbolism, song, instruments, movement, and stillness. Theme 2: ��Chanticleer�s Tale� Pageant Medieval Festival Drama, Music, Dance, & Art combine in a historical "Theater in the Round" experience Recommended Ages: 6-12 Program Hours: 9 am to 3:30 pm Program Fee: $250 per week - pre-registration required Late pick-up at 4:30 (optional, additional fee of $40 per week) For more information and registration, call 315-256-8528 www.enlightencny.com/summer-camp.html Tuesday August 6, 2013 2:00 Maskmaking; Performance to follow Pine Hills Public Library, Albany, NY "Bawshou & The Dragon" Traditional Chinese Folk Pageant What would you do if the Sun was captured by a powerful Dragon, and hidden in a cave, deep beneath the sea? In this traditional Chinese tale of wonder and adventure, the young boy Bawshou bravely sets out to rescue the Sun with the help of a magic golden Phoenix, to meet the Dragon's three challenges. Featuring costumes, dance, and storytelling techniques of the orient, the action and mystique of the tale are highlighted by live music on authentic Chinese traditional stringed, wind, and percussion instruments, including pipa, erhu, moon lute, gong, temple bells, drum, & guzhung (ancient Chinese zither harp.) Fantastical Dragon Maskmaking Workshop Before the performance, participants will learn about different types of historic dragons, and create masks of their own to wear in the "Bawshou" Pageant. Other exciting roles to be played in that performance include Star Dancers! Lantern Dancers! River Shakers! ceremonial Gong Sounders! And of course, the sinuous Dragon itself! For more Information: Christine Havens, 518-482-7911 ext 223 Tuesday August 13, 2013 Weedsport Public Library, Weedsport, NY 7:00 PM "The Ant & the Grasshopper" Bells & Motley's performance piece is a highly participatory musical storytelling version of this classic fable. As we weave the tale of Ant and Grasshopper�s year in four episodes, imagine Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" introducing each episode played on harp, nyckelharpa, winds, and tromba marina (think 6 ft. tall ancient bowed dulcimer carved like a unicorn by its maker, John). The action and mystique of the tale are further highlighted by the audiences� contributions on medieval fiddles, percussion, and dancing. We predict you will especially enjoy our twist on the story's moral. All ages will love this performance! Showtime begins 7:00 pm. Outdoors at Weedsport Gazebo, Weedsport NY 315-834-6222 www.weedsportlibrary.org Friday August 16, 2013 Guernsey Library, Norwich, NY "Bawshou & The Dragon" Traditional Chinese Folk Pageant (See "Bawshou" performance description above) Fantastical Dragon Maskmaking Workshop 2:00, Performance to follow Before the performance, participants will learn about different types of historic dragons, and create masks of their own to wear in the "Bawshou" Pageant. Other exciting roles to be played in that performance include Star Dancers! Lantern Dancers! River Shakers! ceremonial Gong Sounders! And of course, the sinuous Dragon itself! For more Information: Kim Hazen, Children's Librarian 607-334-4034 Wednesday August 21, 2013 1:00 Maskmaking; 2:30 Performance Whitesville Library, Whitesville, NY "Bawshou & The Dragon" Traditional Chinese Folk Pageant (See "Bawshou" performance description above) Fantastical Dragon Maskmaking Workshop Before the performance, participants will learn about different types of historic dragons, and create masks of their own to wear in the "Bawshou" Pageant. Other exciting roles to be played in that performance include Star Dancers! Lantern Dancers! River Shakers! ceremonial Gong Sounders! And of course, the sinuous Dragon itself! For more Information: Karen Smith, Director 607-356-3645 Thursday August 29, 2013 New York State Fair, Syracuse NY Agricultural Museum Bells & Motley will include their early NYS Heritage instruments in this performance, and pay a heartfelt musical tribute to this wonderful museum which has been an important part of their childhood upbringing, and an inspiration for their work in Olden Music, in their 1830's home restoration, and in their gardens! Come visit us! Rome Renaissance Festival & Artisan Marketplace 2013 Saturday & Sunday September 7 + 8 Bells & Motley perform 3 shows both days at this event sponsored by the Rome Art and Community Center, located at 308 West Bloomfield Street, Rome NY. Faire hours 10am-5pm both days. Tickets $12 Adult, $10 Senior, $8 Child. Discounts will be available on website: www.romeart.org Thursday October 10, 2013 6:30 PM Oxford Memorial Library, 8 Fort Hill Park, Oxford NY "Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal" Folk Operetta A participatory Folk Operetta of New York's Grand Erie Canal featuring authentic historic instruments, music, costumes, tall tales, sing-alongs, and characters for an unforgettable experience in New York State's History. Heritage instruments include squeezeboxes, fiddle, banjo, and hurdy gurdy. For more information, Nancy Wilcox, Director 607-843-6146 Sunday October 27, 2013 Begins 5:30 Marlboro College, Marlboro VT Medieval Festival Medieval Event includes Feasting, Period Music and Dancing led by Bells & Motley Saturday November 2, 2013 7:00-8:30 Inspiration Cafe, St. Paul's Parish Center, Rome NY "The Music of Medieval Visions and Miracles" A concert of historic sacred music presented by John and Sondra Bromka, Bells and Motley Consort of Olden Music. Accompanying themselves on celtic harp, hurdy gurdy, medieval fiddles, bagpipes, lutes, and more, Sondra and John propose a joyous program of early music that crosses intriguingly between the sacred and secular, to enter the "early folk" realm. The music will include selections from the "Cantigas de Santa Maria" of 12th century Spain, medieval drinking songs adopted for sacred use (and visa versa), and ceremonial music from Celtic traditions, delivered in the Bromka's rare mix of reverence, humor, and high energy. St Paul's Roman Catholic Parish Center, 1807 Bedford St. Rome NY. Free will donation. Monday December 2, 2013 5:15-6:00 Town of Clay Treelighting, Clay NY Welcome in the Season of Christmas with festivities that include Bells & Motley's Music, along with other diverse activities at the Clay Town Hall For information: 652-3800 ext. 137 Thursday December 5, 2013 6:30-8:00 "Welcome Yule" Concert of Historic Christmas Music Marcellus Free Library, Marcellus NY Instrumentation for this concert will include historic Celtic harp, hurdy gurdy, nyckelharpa, button accordeon, hammered dulcimer, assorted early winds, and will begin with a festive outdoor bagpipe fanfare regale to signal its start. Our concert is part of the village's annual holiday Starlight Tree Lighting event, which includes all manner of activities, including free horse drawn carriage rides and tours of the historic Steadman House. Bells & Motley and Marcellus Library are grateful for sponsorship by CNY Arts Council. Friday December 6, 2013 6:00-8:00 St. Nicholas Gathering & Potluck at St. John's Episcopal Church, Marcellus NY John Bromka will be appearing as St. Nicholas, the legendary 4th Century Bishop of Myra, in our own home village of Marcellus. St. John's welcomes you to join them for a time of fellowship and merriment as they recall the life of St. Nicholas. The evening opens with a potluck supper at 6:00 pm in the community room. St. Nicholas will appear at 7 pm in the sanctuary, telling stories as an interactive "trunk show" with participation by children and other volunteers. Children of all ages are encouraged to set aside this time and join as we remember the Bishop of Myra and the legend that has grown out of his ministry in the early church. Please bring a dish to pass and your own table setting. The church is located at the corner of Maple and Orange Streets. For information: John Bromka, 315-567-5697; St John's 315-673-2500 or 673-5763 Sunday December 8, 2013 1:00-4:00 Lorenzo State Historic Site Candlelight Open House, Cazenovia NY Here's the beloved local historic site open house that we have called our Christmas home since 1986! It's an open house, and a lovely chance to experience the magic of another era with our music filling all the corridors and chambers warmed by candlelight. Come enjoy our holiday music in an evocative historic setting. We promise to transport you to a time and place most rare.... $5 for adults, $2 children 12 and under. Location: 17 Rippleton Road, Route 13. For information: 315-655-3200, www.lorenzony.org Sunday December 29, 2013 10:00 St. David's Episcopal Church, DeWitt NY We are privileged to perform sacred music for the Christmas season at this wonderful worship service. Location: 14 Jamar Drive (traveling East on Genesee St, turn right on Maple (across from Wegmans Dewitt), then right on Jamar. Signs will point the way at each turn. See www.stdavidscny.org ![]() ![]() Bells & Motley at Cortland's 1890 House ![]() Home at MonteViola Manse, Marcellus NY Artists' Retreat! Planning, writing, rehearsals, the creation of new works, with a special focus on composing original musical settings for Shakespeare's Sonnets. Sunday January 8, 2012 9:20 AM Marcellus Methodist Church, Marcellus, NY John and Sondra add sacred musical embellishments to the service in celebration of Epiphany Saturday January 22, 2012 6:00-9:00 pm Annual Robbie Burns Scottish Celebration Dinner at the Brae Loch, Cazenovia, NY In this grand return to our Celtic roots, we'll be playing harp, bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, bodhran, in celebration of the haggis as it is paraded reekin' 'round the room. It's a warm evening of music, tradition, and pageantry. For more Information, Reservations, Prices: 315-655-4844 www.braelochinn.com March 19-30, 2012 Fairfield Elementary School, Fairfield PA Medieval Artists-in-Residence Interdisciplinary Music, Dance, Fine Arts, and Theater for the entire school, running two weeks, with a daily project for 4th graders: our original "Canterbury Tales Script" for a grande finale musical theater performance. ![]() Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays April 13-22, 2012 SU Warehouse Theater, Syracuse, NY "Love vs. Time" - Shakespeare's Sonnets Bells & Motley are the featured musicians at this exciting new show, conceived and directed by longtime collaborator, Ronnie Bell of Syracuse Shakespeare Festival. 28 of Shakespeare's sonnets interpreted in a timeless fashion, through the arts of music, dance, theatre, choral reading, dramatic presentation, film, photography, video, poetry and more. Two narrators advocate their positions to the audience throughout the show, and the audience will be asked to decide the question, "What's the most important force in your life, love or time?" In addition to their "incidental music" throughout the show on assorted Renaissance instruments, John and Sondra will debut original musical compositions for their favorite sonnets. April 3-4, 2012 Voorheesville Middle School, Voorheesville NY Medieval Artists-in-Residence Since 1992, our Annual Interdisciplinary Music, Dance, Fine Arts, Art History, and Theater Project for all 6th graders, with a culminating Medieval Feast and Festival of Dance! April 17-19, 2012 Watkins Glen Middle School, Watkins Glen NY Renaissance Artists-in-Residence Since 2003, our Annual Interdisciplinary Music, Dance, Fine Arts, Art History, and Theater Arts Project, focusing on building 9th Grade students' interactive theater skills for the culminating school Renaissance Faire! April 30-May 11, 2012 Milton Middle School, Milton PA Medieval Artists-in-Residence Since 2004, our Annual Interdisciplinary Music, Dance, Fine Arts, Art History, and Theater Arts Project, with a culminating Medieval Festival! This 2-week integrated core curriculum program also featured a student performance of "Chanticleer's Tale" from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and scripted by the artists for a theater experience "in the round." May 6, 2012 LeMoyne College, Syracuse NY Medieval Roundtable Event Bells & Motley continue their ongoing teaching relationship with this fine college, in a day of period dance and music instruction for students out On the Green. May 28-30, 2012 Elisabeth Morrow School, Englewood NJ Medieval Artists-in-Residence Since 1998, our Annual Interdisciplinary Music, Dance, Fine Arts, Art History, and Theater Arts Project, with a resplendent culminating Medieval Feast and Activities Day! And for a change of pace, we begin another thread of music, instruments, culture, storytelling, and pageantry...Chinese! May 22-24, June 4-8, 2012 "Bawshou & the Water Dragon" Chinese Pageant School Interdisciplinary Residencies 3rd Graders in Milford and Worcester Elementary Schools, NYS What would you do if the Sun was captured by a powerful Dragon, and hidden in a cave, deep beneath the sea? In this traditional Chinese tale of wonder and adventure, the young boy Bawshou bravely sets out to rescue the Sun with the help of a magic golden Phoenix, to meet the Dragon's three challenges. Featuring costumes, dance, and storytelling techniques of the orient, the action and mystique of the tale are highlighted by live music on authentic Chinese traditional stringed, wind, and percussion instruments, including pipa, erhu, moon lute, gong, temple bells, drum, & guzhung (ancient Chinese zither harp.) Fantastical Dragon Mask and Ornamental Lantern-making Workshops Before the performance, students will learn about different types of historic dragons, and create masks of their own to wear in the "Bawshou" Pageant. Other exciting roles to be played in that performance include Star Dancers! Lantern Dancers! River Shakers! ceremonial Gong Sounders! And of course, the sinuous Dragon itself! NOTE: School performances are not open to the public, but please inquire if you would like to preview. ![]() Sterling Renaissance Festival 2012 All weekends beginning July 7-8, thru final weekend August 18-19 Bells & Motley's 35th year of performance since this wonderful Faire's inception in 1977! --- Join us for our concerts at our old Applewood Stage, plus a historic dance instruction session for your participation. Kick up your heels! www.sterlingfaire.com July 12, 2012 Thornden Park Carriage House, Syracuse, NY Shakespeare Summer Camp Every year, Sondra and John work intensively with a group of children on the music, instruments, and dance, with a focus on a Shakespearean play. This year's theme: A Midsummer Night's Dream." Thursdays & Fridays August 9, 10, 16, 17, 2012 Thornden Park Amphitheater, Syracuse, NY "Shakespeare in the Park" John performs music to accompany "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Performance starts 5:30 pm. Friday August 24, 2012 Penn Yan Public Library, Penn Yan, NY "The Ant & the Grasshopper" Bells & Motley's performance piece is a highly participatory musical storytelling version of this classic fable. As we weave the tale of Ant and Grasshopper�s year in four episodes, imagine Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" introducing each episode played on harp, nyckelharpa, winds, and tromba marina (think 6 ft. tall ancient bowed dulcimer carved like a unicorn by its maker, John). The action and mystique of the tale are further highlighted by the audiences� contributions on medieval fiddles, percussion, and dancing. We predict you will especially enjoy our twist on the story's moral. All ages will love this performance! Showtime begins 6:00 pm. 214 Main St, Penn Yan NY 315-536-6114 www.pypl.org.org Rome Renaissance Festival & Artisan Marketplace 2012 Saturday & Sunday August 25-26 Bells & Motley perform 3 shows both days at this event sponsored by the Rome Art and Community Center, located at 308 West Bloomfield Street, Rome NY. Faire hours 10am-5pm both days. Tickets $12 Adult, $10 Senior, $8 Child. Discounts available on website til August 22: www.romeart.org September 1, 2, and 22, 2012 Private Wedding Performances and Anniversary Celebrations Mohawk Valley Community College September 30, 2012 Special Medieval Renaissance Music & Instruments presentations ![]() Here's our calendar of festivities! Monday December 3, 2012 5:00-6:00 Town of Clay Treelighting, Clay NY Bells & Motley Music along with other diverse activities at the Clay Town Hall For information: 652-3800 ext. 137 Wednesday December 5, 2012 6:00-8:00 St. Nicholas Gathering & Potluck at St. John's Episcopal Church, Marcellus NY John Bromka will be appearing as St. Nicholas, the legendary 4th Century Bishop of Myra, in our own home village of Marcellus. St. John's welcomes you to join them for a time of fellowship and merriment as they recall the life of St. Nicholas. The evening opens with a potluck supper at 6:00 pm in the community room. St. Nicholas will appear at 7 pm in the sanctuary, telling stories as an interactive "trunk show" with participation by children and other volunteers. Children of all ages are encouraged to set aside this time and join as we remember the Bishop of Myra and the legend that has grown out of his ministry in the early church. Children are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy that will be donated to Toys for Tots. Please bring a dish to pass and your own table setting. The church is located at the corner of Maple and Orange Streets. For information: John Bromka, 315-567-5697; St John's 315-673-2500 or 673-5763 Saturday December 8, 2012 2:00-9:00, Bells & Motley "Revels of Christmas Past" Concert from 4:00-6:00 Kellish Hill Music Farm, Manlius NY Come join us at this wonderful farm to celebrate the warmest and richest traditions of an Old-Fashioned Christmas!! Our program will knit together the young, old, shy & bold, and all manner of historic musical instruments in the perfect setting to please the eye, ear, and heart. Harp, hurdy gurdy, early bagpipes, hammered dulcimer, button accordeon, and all manner of historic bowed and plucked instruments built by John Bromka himself. Before and after our featured concert (we take the stage from 4:00-6:00) there will be an open microphone signup starting at 2:00, plus you are invited to enjoy a potluck supper of turkey/ham/mashed potatoes at 6:00, and then continue with open mic. Don't miss this delightful spirit of Christmas camaraderie at its best! Location: Only 20 minutes from downtown Syracuse- 4.2 miles from Route 92 in Manlius or .5 mile North of Route 20 at 3192 Pompey Center Road. Look for the big yellow wheels out front. Cost is $10.00 For information: 315-682-1578. www.kellishhillfarm.com Sunday December 9, 2012 1:00-4:00 Lorenzo State Historic Site Candlelight Open House, Cazenovia NY Here's the beloved local historic site open house that we have called our Christmas home since 1986! It's an open house, and a lovely chance to experience the magic of another era with our music filling all the corridors and chambers warmed by candlelight. Come enjoy our holiday music in an evocative historic setting. We promise to transport you to a time and place most rare.... $4 for adults, $1 kids under 12. Location: 17 Rippleton Road, Route 13. For information: 315-655-3200, www.lorenzony.org Monday December 10, 2012 1:00-2:00 Bells & Motley's "The Olden Music and Traditions of Christmas," Catskill NY For children, families, and seniors, Catskill Library has sponsored this special performance "The Olden Music & Traditions of Christmas" to celebrate the spirit of Christmas and Community. We hope to bring together folks of all ages to delight in the sounds and sights of this spectacular assortment of antique instruments from days gone by. The program will be held at the Washington Irving Senior Center, 15 Academy Street, Catskill NY 12414. For information: call the Senior Center 518-943-1343, or Catskill Library 518-943-4230 www.catskillpubliclibrary.org Monday December 10, 2012 6:30-8:30 "Wassail! Wassail! Bells & Motley Yuletide Music Celebration" at D.R. Evarts Library, Athens NY We are so excited to present our Yuletide Celebration in music in this beautiful historic village! See Wassail! concert description below, at Kinderhook Memorial Library. Location: 80 Second Street, on the corner of Second and North Church St, Athens NY 12015 (about 5 miles north of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge) . For information: 315-518-945-1417, www.drevartslibrary.org Friday December 14, 2012 6:30-8:30 "Wassail! Wassail! Bells & Motley Yuletide Music Celebration" at Kinderhook Memorial Library, Kinderhook NY Candlelight Night at the Library with Bells and Motley Consort Music and customs of a traditional Christmas in Dickens� time included jovial and ceremonial songs with choruses for all to share. This musical voyage back to the spirit of Christmas Past offers a magical time for family and friends to gather and share the origins of our traditions. Across England, folks would go from door to door, singing wassailing songs that ended with the request for �a toast and a good loaf or cheese, and we�ll be on our way.� Bells and Motley will feature wassail songs from Cornwall, Somerset, and Gloucestershire. Other traditions will include a special processional bagpipe air from Northumberland to �pipe your bounds� to insure abundance and well being throughout the new year. This peek behind the history of Christmas celebration uncovers the universal within the season�s mirth and merriment, and plants the seeds of ideas for reestablishing some of the old traditional elements for community celebrationsfurther enriching the meaning and majesty of this important holiday season. Location: 18 Hudson Street, Kinderhook NY. For information: 518-758-6192. Saturday December 15, 2012 12:30-3:00 Sint Niklaas Belgian Christmas Celebration, Ommegang Brewery Cooperstown NY and Motley John's birthday! a double celebration! Imagine celebrating Christmas the Olde-World way, with Sint Niklaas, his side-kick Black Peter, and traditional holiday music, instruments, and traditions as you'd have enjoyed them in old Flanders. As you listen, you can also try some of the most finely crafted beer this side of Belgium. You might want to check the Ommegang website for details, to read about all that's happening, and get directions: www.ommegang.com. Or call: (607) 544-1800 Friday, December 21, 2012 Noon-3:00 Corporate Celebration Party Saturday December 22, 2012 1:00-2:00 "Bells & Motley Celtic Christmas" at Southeast Steuben County Library, Corning NY Let us take you through musical history with Music for the 12 Days of Christmas-Celtic Christmas and music for Mid-Winter celebrations. Through the centuries, these celebrations have been 12-day flurries of spirited songs, mythical airs, quaint traditions and mirthful customs and stories. We will recreate that spirited feeling as we play a diverse array of Celtic instruments: harp, hammered dulcimer, bagpipes, button accordian, Irish Cittern, bodhran and guitar. Library location: 300 Nasser Civic Plaza, Suite 101, Corning NY. For information: 518-766-3211, Library. Sunday December 23, 2012 9:20 AM Marcellus Methodist Church, Marcellus, NY Come join John and Sondra as they add sacred musical embellishments to what has become an annual worship service in celebration of Christmas, located in their own village at 1 Slocombe Ave, Marcellus NY. For information: 315-673-3239. Friday, December 28, 2012 6:00-9:00 Private Celebration Party Back to top
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Arts-in-Education Performances, Workshops, Residencies Teacher Consultancies and In-Service Workshops Please contact us for information about our availability, possible grants and supplemental funding deadlines, program catalogs and custom project ideas for school performance and residency proposals. We are rostered artists throughout NYS regional BOCES programs, as well as with Pennsylvania State Arts Council, and eligible for funding for public and private school programs. Funding deadlines apply, so get in touch now! ~ Sondra and John
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"Bawshou & the Dragon" StoryTheater ![]() Summer Reading Program Library Performances |
![]() Bells & Motley, recounting the Tale of Tristan & Iseult with harp and nyckelharpa Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire
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